Seemandhra employees in secretariat boycott work

Tension prevailed at the Andhra Pradesh state secretariat here on Saturday as the employees from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions boycotted their work and staged protests against the decision of the central government to carve out separate Telangana state.

After staging protests during lunch-hour for last three days, the employees on Saturday boycotted their work and took out a rally. They staged a sit-in in front of chief minister's office, demanding resignation of all ministers, MPs and state legislators from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra).

Leaders of the newly-formed Secretariat Seemandhra Employees Forum demanded that the central government withdraw its decision to bifurcate the state.

The protestors raised slogans of "We want justice" and "We want Hyderabad". They alleged that the decision would badly affect thousands of government employees from Seemandhra.

They stopped the vehicle of state minister S Sailajanath, demanding his resignation. The minister said he and other ministers were for united Andhra Pradesh and they were ready to sacrifice their posts.

"Hyderabad is built with the sweat and bloods of people of Seemandhra," the minister said when employees voiced apprehensions about their safety and future in the city.